Six Chevrolet Daytona Prototypes tested at Daytona International Speedway Tuesday, but the media were not allowed in to snoop around, so I made some calls, appeals, shout outs and such, and talked by phone to car owner Bob Stallings and driver Richard Westbrook.

Stallings owns the No. 99 Chevy DP, more commonly known in sports car circles as the “Red Dragon.” Westbrook co-drives the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP. Both said they shook the rust off their cars Monday at a track in West Palm Beach.

“It’s a lot warmer here than where I was in Texas,” Stallings said. “It’s nice to see the car out on the track and seeing the team getting back in the groove.”

Stallings said GAINSCO Racing is a little behind “as far as getting ourselves in running shape.”

“We did a shake down in West Palm and we ran all day at Daytona without any issues at all,” he said. “Our tire temperatures were really quite good. I think this fix that IMSA put in place to open up the fenders and take the diffuser off really got rid of all of our concerns.”

These Daytona Prototypes are much different than the ones raced in January. IMSA has allowed traction control and carbon brakes.

“The guys love the car and they are all ecstatic about the car,” Stallings said. “They always liked driving the ‘Red Dragon’ before, but today all my drivers got out of the car just beaming. It’s very driveable. The power in the car is exciting. We got a six-speed gearbox, which helps the car coming off a turn. All my drivers think it is terrific.”

If you recall, Westbrook was at the wheel of the Spirit car when it took a violent tumble in Turn 1 of the Speedway road course in early November. The prototype was totalled and the team ordered a new chassis from Coyote. The new car arrived at the Spirit of Daytona’s shop in less than a week and the team has worked overtime to prep the car for this test and the upcoming Roar Before The Rolex 24 in early January.

Westbrook said the car performed up to his expectations. Here are his thoughts on the new and improved No. 90 Chevy DP.

“Everything is brand new on the car right down to the steering wheel,” he said after Tuesday’s test. “The guys have been flat out building this new car. It’s not something you can buy off the shelf. Literally, the car’s prep was finished Monday morning then we had a roll out in West Palm Beach.

“Today (Tuesday) we’ve been able to run the car in anger and it’s been an absolutely superb test. We haven’t had any issues. The car feels great to drive. It was good to get back on the horse after the crash in November.”

Asked if he felt confident in the car, Westbrook said the first few laps in the prototype were a bit unnerving.

“To be completely honest, I didn’t feel confident immediately,” he said. “When you come off the (tri-oval) banking and I was listening to every single noise the car was making and probably a bit oversensitive to any noise that came through the cockpit. It was not easy the first couple of runs, but once I got (some laps) I started to feel more comfortable.

“Continental brought a new tire, which I have to say, ran flawlessly. Once I realized I was in a brand new car that was performing flawlessly, there was no looking back after that.”

“I was thinking ‘We got a brand new car and we got to start from zero,'” he added. “But everything has clicked super quickly with this car. Now I can say we are not behind and we are right on schedule. The car is doing exactly what we want it to do.”